When will Apple ship a MacBook with an ARM processor? This is a
question that has been top of mind for observers of the company
ever since it started designing and building its own chips from
the ground up.

The answer to that question is now, sort of. Apple’s new 13-inch
and 15-inch MacBook Pro models come equipped with a Touch Bar —
that bar and the accompanying Touch ID sensor are powered by both
the Intel processor at the core of the laptop and an Apple
designed T1 chip.

The T1 consists of the processor in the Apple Watch’s S2 and the
Secure Enclave.

This is an oversimplification, but effectively the Touch Bar is an iOS device — a little computer in a big computer.